It’s hard for me not to take this personally. My wife Dayle and I started BikeBrampton 13 years ago to encourage the city to build an active transportation network that would offer a safe, convenient and relatively comfortable alternative to the car for short-distance trips. Until last week, it’s been slow but reasonably steady progress. Over the past decade or so, the city has created a subdepartment under planning for active transportation. It hired an active transportation specialist and supporting staff. An active transportation master plan was created and unanimously passed by Council in 2019. That plan outlined a connected network of pathways, sidewalks and bike lanes across the entire city that would be built out over 20 years.

The plan also outlined the compelling reasons why cycling must be an important element in the city’s long-term transportation strategy. The traffic demand management experts have done the calculations and determined we are in big trouble if the historical growth in the use of cars continues, particularly for single occupancy vehicles. As the city’s population tips over 1 million residents in the next few years, Brampton will not only run out of road space, it will run out of space to build roads unless a higher percentage of people choose transportation alternatives other than the personal automobile. Straight and simple. If we want to avoid traffic chaos and road related carnage both now and in the future, more people must choose transit, walking, cycling, and micro mobility for short-distance travel.

Encouraging people to walk, cycle or jump on transit starts with giving them the confidence that, if they choose a mode of travel other than the car, they can still get to their destinations, conveniently, and in relative safety and comfort. There are many aspects to what it takes to create this confidence. But table stakes is for the city to build a network that is as comprehensive as the existing road system while limiting interaction between motorists and vulnerable road users such as cyclists.

Sidewalks serve this purpose for pedestrians. They are physically separated from faster moving traffic and are reasonably comprehensive in allowing walkers to get from home to destinations that are maximum 1-2 km away. Adult cyclists cannot use sidewalks. For one thing it is illegal do so in Brampton. And sidewalks are not designed for bicycles travelling faster than about 12 kilometers an hour. Mixing pedestrians and fast-moving utilitarian cyclists is not a good idea. Safety becomes an issue on this type of facility the faster you go. For this reason, multi-use paths are also not a valid option for cyclists or e-scooters wanting to get somewhere quickly and conveniently.

Bicycles are allowed to use the road. But the speed variance between bicycles and cars leads to potential conflicts and safety issues. Depending on the speed and volume of traffic on the road, it also reduces the comfort level for cyclists meaning most people will not ride even if they want to.

Dedicated bicycle lanes provide a cost-effective and reasonably safe alternative. Installing a separated bicycle path in the boulevard can cost 5 to 50 times as much per kilometer compared to on-street bike lanes. And, bike lanes only need to be installed along certain roads of the network to provide key connectivity allowing cyclists to travel to virtually any part of the city in relative safety.

In 2020, just as COVID hit, the city introduced the “Streets for People” program which started in earnest to build out the network described in the active transportation master plan. Perhaps the most important connection in the plan is the east-west cycling corridor encompassing, Vodden, Howden, North Park, Central Parkway, and Cottrelle once the bridge across the Bayridge Valley is complete. This stretch of road midway between Queen and Bovaird runs almost the full width of the city. It uses collector roads that were historically “over-engineered” so that bike lanes could be used as a traffic calming measure to reduce speeding and aggressive driving behaviour. It connects the three major pathways that run north and south through Brampton’s rivers valleys. It also connects residential areas to literally hundreds of destinations, areas for recreation employment and commercial activities. This section of roadway is uniquely suited to act as the spine for active transportation across the city.

Unfortunately, change inevitably is met with resistance. Even though cycling usage has increased significantly in recent years, motorists still saw the bike lanes as being mostly empty. They became frustrated with the loss of road space for automobiles, There was particular frustration at intersections where there was no longer a dedicated lane for right-hand turners. With road construction on Williams and Dixie that encouraged more cut-through traffic along Howden, residents became increasingly upset. They demanded action

Last summer, Council directed staff to analyze several options. After conducting numerous public feedback sessions and reviewing the data, staff recommended an option that would maintain the bike lanes along most of the road section but move those lanes into the boulevard at the intersections allowing for dedicated right and left-hand turns for motorists. A cost-effective and reasonable compromise which would help alleviate resident concerns while still maintaining this key piece of infrastructure for cyclists.

Here is my frustration. With the exception of one, Council, fueled by the resident anger, determined they were not prepared to support this compromise, or any compromise for that matter. The only thing that would satisfy them was complete removal of this section of the Howden bike lanes, which threatens to render the active transportation master plan useless.

I started riding my bike primarily for environmental reasons. In Brampton, transportation represents the largest source of carbon emissions. I’m very concerned about climate change, (as should we all be). Dayle and I had taken the usual steps to reduce our carbon footprint, changing light-bulbs, increasing insulation, sealing doors and windows, etc. There are very few things that we as individuals can do to address the climate crisis. I was looking for more, and riding my bike to short-distance destinations seemed like a good way for me to help the planet while staying in shape at the same time.

Brampton has the potential to be bicycle friendly. We are a suburb yes, but we are also a city of close to a million people while enjoying extraordinary population growth. Most of our trips taken by car are less than 5km. Cycling changes the environmental fabric of the city. It allows us to grow up not out and in a healthier, less polluting way that connects to our communities and encourages support for local businesses.

It’s time we all decided what kind of city we want to live in, today and in the future. If you care about this issue, (and you should); if you care about your future and the future of your children, (and I’m sure you do), then write your councillors and tell them you support active transportation. Tell them you support bike lanes!

The BEA has been fortunate to receive funding from the TRCA each year, since 2022, for delivery of projects within the Bramalea SNAP area. Cindy Evans has been the BEA lead for for the past 2 years. This year, however, the project was split in two with half the deliverables in 2025 and the rest to be delivered in 2026.

Cindy Evans is a tireless advocate for safer streets. When she isn’t practicing her art or music, Cindy loves riding her bicycle, not just in her Bramalea neighbourhood, but throughout the city. She has also cycled throughout Ontario and in Europe. She loves sharing her experience and expertise while giving back to her community. Cindy is a member of the Active Transportation Advisory Committee which provides advice and guidance to Brampton Council on issues related to human powered travel, primarily walking and cycling. She is also a member of BikeBrampton and the Brampton Environmental Alliance (BEA).

A focus area of Cindy’s project this year and next is to build on one of the SNAP goals -to encourage active transportation in the E, F and K sections of Bramalea while fostering a safe, connected community of students who ride their bikes to school.

Spring audits of Bramalea Secondary School and Earnscliffe Senior Public School demonstrated that, despite lack of on street cycling infrastructure, 28-32 secondary students and 17-19 middle school students were riding to school on a regular basis. Cindy’s project aimed at improving the safety of student and community bicycle riders.

She did this by first recruiting four youth leaders who were taught bike safety basics over 5 sessions in July and August with the help of experienced adult trainers. Next she organized a free bike repair pop-up at Bramalea Secondary School with the help of the Brampton Bike Hub operated by Punjabi Community Health Services (PCHS). There participants were shown how to do basic bike repair and maintenance.

Finally, with permission from the administration, she helped students at Earnscliffe start a Bike Club, . Helmets were distributed to those students without, (including customized helmets for Sikh boys donated by Bold Helmets a Brampton based manufacture of specialized helmets). Bells were installed, tires were inflated, and brakes checked on all student bikes at each of 4 Bike Club Meetings. Middle school bike club members were mentored, by the youth leaders, on bike skills and safety techniques. Each session ended with a short neighbourhood ride on trails and roads.

Bike Club 2025 ended in November with a route planning workshop using paper and Google maps. Students who attended 3 or more Bike Club sessions were given rechargeable rear lights upon completing a short paper questionnaire.

A benefit of this grant being split into two years is that the Bike Club will restart at the end of April 2026. Cindy plans to create bike repair and cycling events to encourage more students to safely experience the joys of riding to school and having fun with their neighbourhood friends.

• 4 drop-in public sessions at different locations/times so residents can learn more, review the data, and share their feedback in person:
  • July 23 at BCC Terminal (2–6 PM)
  • July 26 at BCC Mall (12–4 PM)
  • July 29 & 31 at Chinguacousy Park Sandra Park Hames Centre  (4–8 PM)
• Online survey open from July 21 to August 7 on the City’s Let’s Connect page — we’ll be promoting this widely through mailouts, social, signage, and flyers.
• We’re reaching about 6,000 households directly in the project area plus doing broader promotion to make sure people know how to get involved.

Whether or not you are a cyclist, or a support of active transportation, please come out to one of these sessions to learn the facts about how bike lanes affect traffic and road safety in our city.

If you are not able to attend one of the sessions, you can complete the survey on-line. First check out Dayle Laing’s BikeBrampton post for an analysis of the four options and more background information that will help you with your feedback.

This is more than just the future of a few bike lanes. It’s about the transportation vision for the City of Brampton that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

Among the issues we faced: the Province prioritizing building Highway 413, and the efforts of the Emerald Energy From Waste company to expand its garbage burning operations in Brampton without appropriate environmental controls being in place. Of greater concern is the general apathy of the public towards environmental issues and the vitriolic response to public policies aimed at climate change mitigation, notably carbon pricing and rebates. The fact that we seemingly cannot have an adult conversation related to these important topics is deeply troubling.

Perhaps the biggest blow to our progress was in the area of active transportation, i.e. using human power to get around. After a decade of advocating, planning and, public consultation, a safe cycling network was beginning to emerge in the City of Brampton, one that would truly encourage more people to leave their cars at home for short-distance trips. And the data showed it was working. In previous posts we’ve described how the installation of bike lanes in the city increased the amount of cycling and improved road safety by slowing down the average road speeds. Counter-intuitively even though speed was reduced, actual travel time was shortened, meaning the roads were being used more efficiently. The reduction of carbon emissions was becoming significant.

Unfortunately, as the cycling network became more “obvious” to the public, city staff and Councillors received increasing levels of complaints. The situation worsened during the summer and fall of 2024 after Council responded to cyclists’ concerns resulting from continued bike lane parking violations and irresponsible driver actions that put cyclists’ lives at risk. Council voted to increase parking fines, and hired more by-law officers to enforce the rules. Protection barriers were installed at several intersections to prevent conflict situations.

These actions, while effective at changing driver behaviour for the better, also fueled a volley of anger and protest that threatened to create a cultural chasm between those wanting to perpetuate suburban car-centric planning and those who support a city transformation that includes safe, convenient, economically available and environmentally sustainable transportation choices. The former group’s objections were so vehement that they won the day and Council chose to back down. The Active Transportation Master Plan (ATMP) was suspended, pending review later this year.

This past fall another figurative nail was driven in the ATMP coffin as the Provincial Government enacted Bill 212. This poorly crafted, politically driven piece of legislation overrides local transportation policy planning. New bike lane installations now require Ministerial approval and the Province can force municipalities to remove bike lanes in certain situations. More egregiously, the legislation also absolves the province of legal liability for cyclists safety, despite a Provincial staff report indicating that bike lane removal would compromise road safety.

These policy decisions are heading us in the wrong direction despite a year of heightened climate risk, rising carbon emissions from transportation and roads that continue to be more dangerous by the day, especially for pedestrians and cyclists. Despite these setbacks BEA members continue to advocate, working with City Council and staff to make the best of the situation across all these fronts. I especially thank the members of our Board for their continued support and tireless contributions. Their efforts have led to several, more than modest wins. So, let me touch on a few of our efforts from 2024.

Advocacy

• Worked with Environmental Defence to ask the Federal government to request a full environmental assessment for highway 413,
• Met with the Mayor and Council members several times on various environmental issues related to active transportation, energy transformation and climate change,
• Met with MPP McGregor to advocate for Alectra policy changes that would support home electrification projects including installing residential heat pumps,
• Met with Brampton’s Government Relations department to advocate for carbon controls to be put onto Capital Power’s expansion proposal for the Goreway Gas Plant.

Events

• 2024 03 13 Brampton Environmental Alliance Annual General Meeting
• 2024 03 21 Wetlands Enhancement Project
• 2024 03 30 Ecosphere Conference & Job Fair
• 2024 04 17 Bramalea Community Network (BCN) Co-Design Workshop and Meeting
• 2024 04 20 Earth Day Festival
• 2024 04 21 Rooted in Hope Final Training Event
• 2024 05 11 Reconnect Brampton Clothing Swap
• 2024 05 23, Dearbourne Park Pollinator Habitat Planting Activity with BEA
• 2024 05 25 Laidlaw Park Tree Planting
• 2024 05 25 Chingucousy Park Bike Fest
• 2024 05 29 Peel Council on Aging Summit
• 10th Annual Bike the Creek Event
• 2024 06 18-19 Emerald Energy from Waste proposal, community meeting and City Council delegations. This item has been referred to City staff for a report back later this summer.
• 2024 06 15 Fred Klein Park tree planting & invasive species pull hosted by CVC
• 2024 06 25 Moving Electricity to fight Climate Change – DSF webinar
• 2024 07 04 Heart Lake Turtle Troopers Family Fun Night Picnic
• 2024 09 14 Unifor GTA West Environmental Council Ecofest in support of CVC
• 2024 10 05 CVC Fletcher’s Creek SNAP 5 year celebration event Fred Klein Park
• 2024 10 09 Emerald Energy from Waste Community Information Session
• 2024 10 22 Litter Reduction Charter Signing
• 2024 11 02 BEA Completes Healthy and Connected Bramalea Project

Education

• BEA delivered a keynote presentation at the Ecosphere Conference and Job Fair,
• BEA delivered Rooted in Hope Training event at Gore Meadows,
• BEA worked with Sierra Club, Toronto Environmental Alliance and Environmental Defence to host an information session on the Emerald Energy from Waste expansion proposal,
• BEA helped promote a David Suzuki Foundation webinar on Moving Electricity to fight climate change,
• BEA organized and helped deliver 2 bike repair workshops, 1 bicycle skills training session and three nature journaling workshops to residents in the Bramalea SNAP neighbourhood as part of Healthy and Connected Bramalea Project.

Collaboration & Networking

• The BEA AGM offered a great networking opportunity,
• Collaborated with BikeBrampton, Sierra Club and Brampton staff on the organizing committee helping plan for the City’s Earth Day Grow Green Celebration and Grow Green Awards Presentation,
• Collaborated with TRCA, BikeBrampton and ACER on the delivery of the Rooted in Hope Project,
• Collaborated with Sierra Club and BikeBrampton to keep Bike the Creek as a waste free event,
• Collaborated with TRCA’s Bramalea SNAP team, BikeBrampton to deliver Healthy and Connected Bramalea Project,
• Participated with the City’s Community Safety and Well-being Office on Litter Reduction Task Force and the development of the Litter Free Charter.

As 2025 kicks off, the Trump tariffs loom as a potentially catastrophic blow to the Canadian economy and the friendly interconnected relationship that has existed between Canada and the United States for over a century. I am hopeful, however, that something good will emerge from this chaos. A breakdown of inter-provincial trade barriers that have historically made it easier for Canadian businesses to sell to customers in Arizona than to neighbouring provinces. A regenerated pride in our country, A focus on self-reliance. A desire to work together as a country and leave partisanship and petty differences behind.

We live in a country of immense natural, cultural and economic wealth. Perhaps the greatest benefit will be that we recognize how precious, how tenuous these benefits are and the importance of putting in the necessary effort to protect them against existential threats, a U.S. economic takeover, or a climate induced apocalypse. We can no longer afford to take these features for granted.

Ontario Bill 212 will sadly result in more road violence deaths on unsafe streets. More than 34 cyclists from Brampton and Toronto gathered on Jan 25th to rally, ride and install a ghost bike to symbolize this prediction.

Members of BikeBrampton welcomed Cycle Toronto, Friends and Families for Safe Streets, Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists (ARC) who arrived at Brampton Innovation District GO station.

The group cycled down Main Street in Brampton. Several drivers honked in support. Some asked what we were doing and gave thumbs up to the response. We were given a safe passing distance by drivers.

The cyclists legally took the lane on most of the 5km route to Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria‘s constituency office at Hurontario Street & Ray Lawson Blvd. We traveled south on Main/Hurontario using the 1.3km bike lane from Wellington Street to Nanwood Drive. The LRT joining downtown to the south end of Mississauga has been pending for over 10 years. The line was approved only north to Steeles Avenue. Consequently, the road south of Steeles is in the process of construction and is quite uncomfortable. It is slated to receive quality active transportation as part of the LRT extension announcement made on Jan 24th.

Sonia Maset, Program Manager of Brampton Bike Hub, Different Spokes, who gave the safety briefings and led the ride, and MC’d the event, spoke of the urgency of protecting our diverse population in Brampton. Now the 3rd largest city in Ontario, Brampton is one of the fastest growing, and youngest populations in Canada. Many residents choose active transportation and transit for affordability, health, and environmental reasons.

Cycle Toronto launched a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 7 challenge to the provincial government’s Bill 212 — Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024, arguing the law’s mandated removal of Toronto’s bike lanes will put lives at risk. Joined by individual applicants Eva Stanger-Ross and Narada Kiondo, and represented by lawyers from Ecojustice and Paliare Roland LLP, the lawsuit also seeks an immediate injunction to prevent the removal of target bike lanes on Bloor Street, University Avenue, and Yonge Street.

Alison Stewart, Cycle Toronto Director of Advocacy and Public Policy (aka Bicycle Mayor of Toronto) announced the injunction is effective Mar 11th. Ontario had targeted the Toronto lane removal to begin Mar 20th. The court date to hear the Charter challenge is Apr 16th.

Jess Spieker, Chair of Friends and Families for Safe Streets, spoke eloquently about her personal journey with traffic violence, and how this led to her advocacy to end these preventable crashes. There is no such thing as an “accident’ on our streets!

Robert Zaichkowski, a Toronto bike blogger of Two Wheeled Politics, spoke about Common Ground Ontario. It is a grassroots initiative that prescribes taking action for a better Ontario, and 6 ways you can make a difference in local campaigns.

David Laing, Chair of BikeBrampton, expressed our gratitude of support from Toronto groups. He reminded everyone of the importance of voting in the upcoming provincial election. Only 18% of voters elected the current majority government. Bike lanes are only one of the issues. Ontarions are facing a high cost of living, housing scarcity, healthcare costs & availability, air quality, insurance costs & availability, and people migration and conflict. A non-partisan group, the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign is hosting a webinar on Feb 13th, 7pm to discuss these issues and how they impact your votes. For more information, contact info@bramptonea.org.

Bill 212 Ghost Bike

A Ghost Bike was chained to public property across the street from Minister Sarkaria’s office. This symbolizes the anticipated injuries and death due to unsafe streets when bike lanes are removed. Bill 212 prevents victims or their families from seeking legal redress for the harms of this bill.

BikeBrampton led the group on their return trip up Main Street to the downtown Brampton GO station.

A group of 10 cycled along Brampton’s signature east-west cycling corridor barrier-protected bike lane to Minister Charmaine Williams‘ constituency office. Despite having voted in favour of Brampton’s 2019 Active Transportation Master Plan when she sat on Brampton Council, she recently sent her riding residents a survey asking which bike lanes they want removed.

Our thanks to Sonia for organizing her volunteer group to prepare the creatives signs and for her leadership on this event.

Rob’s blog post

Jun’s blog post

It’s clear weather events fueled by a changing climate are having an increasingly devastating impact that hurts the Canadian economy, creates environmental destruction, and causes suffering and hardship to Canadian families across the country. It is also clear that, collectively, we are not doing enough to address the climate crisis.

Last week The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) released its GTHA carbon emissions inventory report for 2023. TAF is a Toronto based, non-partisan, not-for-profit agency with the purpose to help the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area (GTHA) become net-zero by 2050. TAF has been collecting and analysing emissions data since 2015. and providing recommendations to the 6 GTHA Regions on how they can reduce emissions to meet 2030 targets. These targets are set by each Regional Government and form part of the Canadian Paris Accord commitments . For Brampton, those targets were set as part of the City’s Community Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan approved by Council in 2019.

Previously TAF reported that carbon emissions in the GTHA decreased by 0.4% in 2019 and 13.4% in 2020, The latter decrease was driven mostly by pandemic impacts to the economy. At that time the 2030 targets could be met by achieving a 7% average annual decrease from 2019-2030. Since then, however, emissions have steadily increased. In 2023 they surpassed pre-pandemic levels rising 2% from 2022 to 54.5 million tons. Meeting 2030 targets now requires annual reductions of 11%.

Peel Region’s emissions grew 2.5% to 11.5 million tons. The per capita rate went down by 1.1% to 7.5 tons per person. That decrease, however, compares unfavourably with Toronto’s 2.6% decrease to 5.2 tons per person, a 44% difference!

For Brampton, transportation and buildings represent the largest emissions by sector. Transportation was up 6% from 2022. It would have been even more except that Brampton also experienced a shift in mode share to active transportation. Cycling trips were up 22% and walking trips were up 14%. Cycling distance increased 17% and walking distance was up 8%. This is notable and contrasts favourably with Mississauga and Caledon where Mississauga saw a decrease in cycling and Caledon’s rate of walking decreased according to the report. See BikeBrampton.ca for more details about changes to active transportation in Brampton.

Emissions from buildings in the GTHA decreased slightly in 2023 mostly related to a warmer than normal winter that reduced natural gas heating requirements. Natural gas consumption details were not available for several municipalities so building emissions can’t be compared at the city level. But positive steps have been taken that should see future decreases in this sector.

For example, along with the other Peel municipalities Brampton has implemented mandatory green development standards for new buildings. Called the Sustainable New Communities Program, it encourages and evaluates sustainability performance of new development projects through a points-based system. Since January 2023, all projects are required to meet the minimum Bronze level standard as well as a “Good” level for building energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions.

In 2022, Brampton created the Centre for Community Energy Transformation (CCET), which is a not-for-profit organization that assists residents and businesses with the tools, education and resources for energy-saving installations and retrofits to existing buildings. CCET was initiated in Brampton but its mandate has expanded to all three Peel municipalities and further expansion plans are in the works. Visit CCET website for more information about home energy retrofits and district energy projects.

The TAF report is cautiously optimistic that 2030 emissions reduction targets can be met. The report noted that emissions from buildings have remained relatively constant while the area has grown by almost a quarter million people. As noted above positive trends were seen in a rise of the use of active transportation, (cycling/walking), the uptake of home energy retrofits, and the normalization of green building standards for new developments.

It is crucial, however, that there is full collaboration amongst all government levels, businesses and citizens to support the necessary policies and associated actions necessary to bend the emissions curve. The report makes recommendations for how that could be achieved. A summary of government recommendations follows:

Recommendations for Federal Government

• Enact Clean Electricity Regulations to ensure a net-zero electrical system across Canada,
• Invest in EV adoption and infrastructure,
• Restrict the use of gas-fired heating equipment,

Recommendations for the Provincial Government

• Prioritize implementation of net-zero electricity supply as opposed to natural gas,
• Remove barriers to local electricity supply by ending the off-shore wind moratorium, extending community net-metering, and double the threshold maximum for micro-generation projects,
• Update the Ontario Building Code to increase minimum standard for building energy efficiency, facilitate EV charging requirements, and provide an update schedule for industry compliance,
• Facilitate EV adoption through purchase incentives, tax credits and or rebates,
• Finance charging system infrastructure in multi-unit dwellings and urban centres

Recommendations for Municipalities

• Enforce and enhance Green Development Standards
• Implement emissions performance standards for existing buildings,
• Support EV charging infrastructure
• Prioritize active transportation and transit,
• Update permitting and zoning bylaws to remove existing barriers to climate action such as the installation of solar and heat pumps.

What you can do to help Brampton meet its emissions reduction targets

While time is running short, there is still an opportunity to meet 2030 carbon emissions reduction targets. You can help in three ways:

Change your personal habits

There are lots of small, medium and large things that we can do as individuals or as a family that will lower our carbon footprint. If a lot of us make even small changes, it will make a BIG difference. For instance:

• Walk/cycle more and drive less,
• Purchase an electric vehicle or take transit,
• If you live in your own home, perform an energy audit and follow suggested efficiency upgrades including:
  • Upgrade windows to triple pane,
  • Upgrade attic insulation,
  • Weather seal windows, doors, baseboards, electrical outlets, etc.
  • Transition heating and hot water system from gas to electric heat pump,
  • Install solar panels,
  • Install solar hot-water system
• Reduce food waste and ensure kitchen scraps are composted or thrown in the green bin,
• Eat more vegetarian meals,
• Buy gently used rather than new or buy good quality items that last a long time. Repair broken items rather than throwing them out. Buy things that you need, or are important to you.
• Forget frivolous gifts! There are better ways of showing that you care.

How you vote matters

We need to let our political leaders know that the environment is important to us. Remind them that it is their duty to balance economic, social and environmental sustainability so that the quality of life in our city can be maintained. It cannot be economic growth at all costs as we will end up paying far more because of the negative impacts of social unrest and environmental degradation.

Support those organizations that are doing the right things

Christmas is a time of giving. There are lots of environmentally, and socially focused organizations out there that are doing a great job and deserve our financial support as well as a bit of our time. Give generously on both accounts. That includes local news organizations that support investigative reporting. These organizations will help keep our politicians honest. But, with more and more advertising revenues going to huge international media companies that lack a moral conscience, these local outlets need your financial support now more than ever.

Earlier this year UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres implored world leaders to take aggressive steps to reduce carbon emissions and eliminate our dependency on fossil fuels as quickly as possible. He said, “We are playing Russian roulette with our planet. We need an exit ramp off the climate highway to hell.”

Most people are concerned about climate change yet are under the illusion that it’s someone else’s problem to fix. Or that, if we can’t fix it because the problem is too large, then we will just have to learn to adapt. The reality is we cannot adapt our way out of what’s coming for us if we continue at our current rate of modest transition. Being bolder means that everyone must do their part, change something.

A low hanging fruit for reducing carbon emissions in Brampton is changing the way we move. Transportation is our biggest carbon emitter. And there is plenty of opportunity to transition the hundreds of thousands of short trips under 5 km taken in this City every day by car, to more sustainable means like walking, cycling, micro mobility, and transit.

Getting people out of their cars is a challenge. We’ve built a culture that reveres car travel for its freedom and convenience Cars are marketed as an extension of our personality and a symbol of our success. But car culture has significant downsides.

With the majority of cars on the road today carrying only one person, they are very inefficient at moving people. They take up a lot of public space both for moving them from one place to another, and for storage. For example, cyclists make up approximately one third of all vehicles entering the Toronto’s Downtown core in the morning along Adelaide (32%) and leaving the Downtown Core in the afternoon along Richmond (30%). West of University Avenue. The cycle tracks on Richmond- Adelaide in the peak period direction, carry a higher volume of vehicles per lane than the motor vehicle lanes. Yet these lanes look comparatively empty compared to the car lanes that are barely moving.

Every person not in their car means more road space for those who must drive. Even a small car takes up about 6 times more road space than a bicycle. And a typical transit bus carries about 10 people in the same space as one car.

Cars are costly, to purchase, service and support on the roads. A car costs on average 10 times more per year to own and operate than a bicycle. If you include the tax-funded costs of providing and maintaining road space, that ratio increases to 30:1. [Bikenomics, Elly Blue, Microcosm Publishing, pg 13].

The most significant downside is that cars are very efficient killers and create significant negative health outcomes for the community. Almost 2,000 people die by car each year in Canada. Another 8,000 are seriously injured. Cars kill on average 307 pedestrians and 46 cyclists in Canada annually.

Cars are killers in other more subtle ways as well. Their exhaust contains particulates and noxious gases that cause lung and heart diseases including cancer. Health Canada estimates that 1,200 people in Canada die prematurely each year because of traffic related air pollution and cause about 2.7 million days to be lost due to asthma and other acute respiratory related incidents. Cars also dissuade us from getting sufficient daily physical activity leading to even more health related problems.

So, we have a vicious circle that is causing significant community damage. Car culture encourages us to drive. The wide, relatively open streets in Brampton encourage us to drive fast, in many cases faster than the posted speed limit allows. When things go wrong serious injury or death is too often the result. This makes people who may otherwise walk or bicycle to their destination opt to drive instead because they perceive the roads as being unsafe. This leads to more driving, more pollution and more congestion on the roads making it frustrating and unhealthy for all.

It doesn’t have to be this way. After years of work on Vision Zero campaigns, the cities of Helsinki and Oslo, (notably both very bike friendly cities), reported zero pedestrian fatalities in 2019. Even New York City, which has built a substantial cycling network and embraced Vision Zero, in 2023, recorded the lowest number of pedestrian deaths ever in the city. While the rate of deaths is still too high, it is less than half the rate from the 1990’s. These cities did this through a combination of education, enforcement and significant investments in safe cycling infrastructure including protected bike lanes.

A lot of people seem not to like bike lanes but they work. They make the roads safer for all road users. They reduce pollution and help to make the community healthier. And studies indicate that bicycle lanes can actually reduce gridlock by encouraging more people to ride instead of drive. The term build it and they will come applies to both road lanes and bike lanes. If municipalities build roads primarily for cars, that will be the primary travel choice and the roads will fill up with cars. On the other hand, if roads are build in such a way that encourages active travel, then more people will choose to leave the car at home and walk or cycling instead! And that’s good for everyone including car drivers.

Last Wednesday 16 people from Brampton, including several Brampton Environmental Alliance members cycled to Queens Park for a Rally and Ride event to protest the Province’s Bill 212 legislation. Over 700 cyclists from across the GTA flooded the south lawn and then joined in for a short ride along the Bloor and Avenue Rd. bike lanes. These lanes would be among the first ones on the Province’s list for removal should Bill 212 pass.

Brampton Council will be discussing bike lanes and the future of Active Transportation in our city at a public, Committee of Council meeting on Wednesday November 13 at 9:30 in Council Chambers. Our Council seems to be evenly split on the value of bike lanes with Mayor Brown and Councillor Santos as the primary champions. If Council decides to cancel or remove existing bike lanes in our city, it would go against the 2040 vision, make it more difficult for the City to meet carbon reduction targets, and make the roads even less safe while doing little to help traffic congestion.

Please let us know your thoughts on bike lanes and highways in Brampton. email us at info@bramptonea.org . It’s time for an adult discussion!

See the latest post on the BikeBrampton website for video links and more information.

In Brampton 60% of our carbon emissions come from transportation, mostly from private automobiles. Currently 86% of Brampton’s 880,000 daily travel trips are by a personal vehicle, (car, SUV, truck). Only 14% use walking, cycling or transit despite the fact that almost half of these trips are less than 5 kilometers, (a 15-minute bike ride). Even a small shift from cars to sustainable transportation modes would reduce emissions and help put our country on track to meet international climate targets.

Easy access to cars means less physical activity leading to health problems including diabetes and coronary diseases. Vehicle exhaust contains noxious gases and particulate matter, all of which have been proven to cause cancer and other ailments. A shift from cars to active and sustainable transportation would improve health outcomes and help reduce the strain on our currently over-burdened healthcare system.

Over-engineered roads in Brampton encourage high-speed driving which puts all road users at increased risk of injury and death. The road fatality rate in Brampton since 2012 remains stubbornly high at between 1.5 and 3.4 deaths per hundred thousand population annually. The installation of on-street traffic calming infrastructure including lanes dedicated to active transportation has been shown to improve road safety by reducing average vehicle speed while improving traffic efficiency. Counter-intuitively, the installation of these active lanes does not increase travel times significantly for drivers. In fact, congestion is often reduced as the flow of traffic improves and potential drivers now choose a bike or other micro-mobility device to travel this safer piece of infrastructure.

Finally there is a strong economic argument for travel by active means rather than the car both individually and on a community basis. Cars cost many thousands of dollars more to own and operate than all but the most expensive bicycle or micro-mobility device. Bicycle road infrastructure is way cheaper to build and maintain than roads designed strictly for larger vehicles. And the space efficiency of bicycles and transit vehicles means that existing roads can accommodate the movement of way more people than if everyone uses their own motorized vehicle. So the cost per person/kilometer travelled drops dramatically the more people use sustainable modes of transportation.

Everyone wants safer streets, healthier communities, more affordable transportation and a clean and healthy environment. The research shows that encouraging active and sustainable transportation, (walking, cycling, micro-mobility, transit), is an effective way to achieve these goals. Conversely, supporting policies that favour car travel do just the opposite. The Ford government has made car licenses free, reduced the sales tax on gasoline and is busy building more roads of questionable value such as highway 413.

This operates against the movement of progressive cities like Brampton that are building safe, affordable healthy transportation networks that provide options other than travel by personal automobile. Their actions are delivering positive results. As the streets get safer, more and more people make the choice to use sustainable modes. The use of bicycles and scooters and their electric assist equivalents has never been higher. Every trip taken by active mode represents one less car trip, potentially safer streets and more road space for everyone. There is no need for the Province to meddle, yet again, in the affairs of these municipalities by dictating to them how people should move.

Actions You Can Take

We ask that you take the following actions:

• Sign the Cycle Toronto online petition against the Ford Government’s plan to ban bike lanes
• Write to your MPP and tell them that you support bike lanes and that local street planning should be left to the municipalities.
• Ask your family and friends, all across Ontario, to do the same. We need all the help we can get.
• Get involved, we are asking for volunteers to help organizing our response to the Province’s proposed legislation.

We can’t have safer streets, healthier communities and a sustainable environment by encouraging more car traffic!

Please take action today!

The Ontario government should be building policies on facts rather than pandering to an ill-informed portion of the population who believe that their right to personal transportation convenience trumps everything else. Let’s not allow them to put political ideology in the way of building better communities!

Check the facts against Doug Ford’s claims, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-toronto-bike-lanes-1.7332276

This year’s event was held at Gore Meadows Community Centre located in Brampton’s northeast at the corner of Castlemore Road and The Gore Road. A good weather day would have brought out hundreds for the festival and celebration event. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas, which was a disappointment for the many exhibitors who lined the boards of the covered but outdoor skating facility.

Three current City Councilors attended including Deputy Mayor Harkirat Singh, Wards 9 & 10 Councilor Gurpartap Singh Toor and Wards 1 & 5 Councilor Rowena Santos.

A past Councilor, Doug Whillans was also recognized at the event receiving a well deserved Grow Green Environmental Stewardship Award in recognition for his championing of environmental causes while in Council and for his support for community gardening and his contribution of thousands of food packages to local food banks over the years.

Other award winners, Heart Lake Turtle Troopers received the Organizational Environmental Stewardship award for their work in protecting turtle habitat and educating the public on the eco-system services provided by urban wetlands.

The Climate Change Award was presented to the Community Climate Council for helping organize a Brampton Climate strike and for their work creating climate literacy through programs such as, Camp Climate, the People Planet Pages Book Club and the Climate Hub.

Shailly Prajapati was recognized with the Youth Award for her work with the Peel Environmental Youth Alliance including hosting events and workshops as well as receiving the Brampton 2040 Vision Youth Visionary Medal. Shailly is also the President of the Human Impact Eco-Club and a member of the Brampton Environmental Advisory Committee. Unfortunately, Shailly was not present to receive her award in person.

Indigenous leader Dr. Hopi Martin led a drum singing and smudging ceremony with a sacred fire burning outside near the storm water pond. The electric bus returned with their bike rack and this was our first view of the new all electric fire truck.

TRCA and CVA, CCET, and many other groups hosted information tables and delighted us with their information. BikeBrampton provided bike valet and Sierra Club Peel sorted the waste from the free, tasty lunch. All the while, People Against Littering volunteers were seen cleaning up the park, their job made all the more difficult because of the wind.

After the award ceremonies were over, the attendees arriving by bike started their journey home against the wind. They’d just started when one of the group got a flat tire. Fortunately they were close enough to return to the Community Centre where the flat was repaired in more comfortable conditions inside.

Maybe 2025 will be the year the Earth Day celebration will enjoy a spring-like day!